Dell c6100 and c6220 Killer - Intel quad-node 2U Xeon E5 Virtualization Server

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

dba

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
1,477
184
63
San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
UPDATE: SOLD

If you love the Dell c6100 but want more, perhaps lusting after the $10K C6220, then take a look at this: The Intel H2312WPJR for $1,430. See Intel H2312WPJR 8 Xeon E5 Server 2U 1200W Socket R Dell C6100 C6220 Killer | eBay

This Intel virtualization/HPC server is a 2U rack mount that contains four nodes and 12 disks like the Dell c6100, but they are super-speedy dual CPU Xeon E5 nodes, and you get 16 DIMM slots per node (64 DIMMs total) plus 4 SATADOM ports and 20 USB ports. In one 2U server you get 8 CPUs, 64 DIMMs, 20 USB ports, 12 disks, 4 SATADOM ports, 4 PCIe 3 x16 slots, and 4 PCIe IO module ports. The specifications are far above the C6100 and equal to the C6220.

I never got around to deploying this monster server, so even the heatsinks are unused, with silkscreened thermal compound just waiting to meet a Xeon CPU.

The c6100 is clearly a better bargain at ~$600 barebones for the 12-bay version (double for the 24 bay), but if you need more power or want a newer architecture, then this might be the server for you. Uniquely, each node has its own fans, so you save power when running just one or two nodes at a time.







 
Last edited:

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Oh my goodness...so tempted.

Details on the boards here: http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/g44057005_s2600wp_tps_r1_5.pdf

Looks like they have a total of 3 PCie 3.0 x16 slots available (in addition to the Intel custom riser). The other two have connectors near the edge of the DIMM banks - one next to each CPU. Would need a riser to access it, no external port access and it would lay over the top of the CPU heatsink, so probably nothing too hot would work. There is also an on-board ConnectX-3 option. From the photos is looks like this might actually be there (probably not).

But WOW!

Lets see...sell the C6100 10Gbe modules...$800. Sell all the CPUs...$500. Sell all the memory...$800 (at current prices). And I could afford this thing and CPU/memory for one blade...

So tempted! Please - somebody buy them!
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Ah...looks like one just went while I was typing this. Please - somebody - buy the other one so that I can stop.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
If the Danville buyer was not on STH - I think we need to remedy that.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Ok. I admit it. It was me. There will be a C6100, DL 380 G6 and lots of parts on the market soon.

Is there a 12 step program to get me to stop?
 

talsit

Member
Aug 8, 2013
112
20
18
If there is, please send me info.

I've almost got myself convinced I'm buying this stuff for the boxes. The boxes make really cool forts for the kids...
 

darkconz

Member
Jun 6, 2013
193
15
18
I am interested in what you have up for sale =D Maybe post here first haha.

Ok. I admit it. It was me. There will be a C6100, DL 380 G6 and lots of parts on the market soon.

Is there a 12 step program to get me to stop?
 

RimBlock

Active Member
Sep 18, 2011
837
28
28
Singapore
Both servers are sold. One stayed local and the other will be traveling to Singapore.
Thats interesting. The Singapore one is not coming my way out of the kindness of your heart by any chance ;).

Just looking at the pics, they seem to only have two lan per board (no dedicated IMPI or optional extra ?) also the fans are on the node making them small and noisy, most likely. They do look nice though.

What sort on mezzanine cards are available ?.

@Piglover.

Shame, I just bought a DL380 G6 on Friday on I probably would have had yours :(.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Out of the box, IPMI rides over-the-top on the LAN ports. It does its own DHCP and/or static IP addressing and cooperates with the rest of the server using it. You can isolate IPMI onto a VLAN if you wish.

They key-locked "advanced" features, but unlike HP they use a physical key to unlock it. Keys are ~$35/node. KVM and remote media are locked. Bummer.

If you get the (optional) riser card to support mezzanine cards it also has a dedicated IPMI lan port embedded in the riser. If you are doing anything that will come close to saturating the on-board LAN then getting this is probably a good idea so that you don't have management traffic interfering.

There are mezz cards for 4x GigE, 10x 10GigE SFP+, 1 or 2 port QDR Infiniband, 1 or 2 port FDR Infiniband and a couple of 4-port SAS Raid cards. They all have one thing in common: they are bloody expensive and not widely available in the resale market.

Fans are loud, but only marginally louder than the HP servers (DL180 G6 or DL380 G6). No for use in living spaces, but if you can isolate it to a room its OK. At least I think its OK - I've not really stressed it so I don't know how loud they will get under load.
 

dba

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
1,477
184
63
San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Thats interesting. The Singapore one is not coming my way out of the kindness of your heart by any chance ;).
Merry Christmas! You're welcome!

...

OK, just kidding.

Actually, the second server is going nowhere just yet. PigLover had some trouble with his - it turns out that there were some bent pins hiding under the new heatsinks. I'm rather angry at the person who sold the servers to me, but fortunately PigLover is more gracious and broke out the jewelers tools instead of a hatchet. He got his working, but I cancelled the transaction for the other one for two reasons: 1) In case PigLover finds any issues over the next few weeks. Not likely, but best to be safe. 2) to then give me a chance to straighten the pins and test before thinking about selling the second server again.

PigLover also found a free Xeon E5 CPU in one of the nodes, but he says that it's a very early ES, so probably not that valuable. And rumor has it that he's going to be swimming in E5s pretty soon, so one more is like a dollar bill to Warren Buffet.

As for the mezzanine cards and IPMI ports: The eBay market for these machines is very slim right now. I'm sure that a 10GbE or FDR Infiniband mezzanine card or two will show up eventually, but it's not like the c6100 where spare parts are everywhere.
 
Last edited:

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
PigLover also found a free Xeon E5 CPU in one of the nodes, but he says that it's a very early ES, so probably not that valuable. And rumor has it that he's going to be swimming in E5s pretty soon, so one more is like a dollar bill to Warren Buffet.
How jealous can I be?

BTW - if you need I actually have those jeweler's magnifying glasses for just this type of work. Sadly these big sockets are a bit more prone to bent pins.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Not exactly swimming and they are from the low-end of the lines...but they are v2s :) Unfortunately, its still a tough road affording the memory to feed them right now. If only I'd known this was coming a year ago when ram was 50% the price it is today :(
 

b3nz0n8

Member
Feb 18, 2013
71
50
18
Actually, the second server is going nowhere just yet. PigLover had some trouble with his - it turns out that there were some bent pins hiding under the new heatsinks. I'm rather angry at the person who sold the servers to me, but fortunately PigLover is more gracious and broke out the jewelers tools instead of a hatchet. He got his working, but I cancelled the transaction for the other one for two reasons: 1) In case PigLover finds any issues over the next few weeks 2) to then give me a chance to straighten the pins and test before thinking about selling the second server again.
Hi dba and PigLover,

If you guys end up selling (dba) / reselling (PigLover) these units, I would like to buy them. I will have the capacity to do so in two weeks, so when you are ready...

Also, I understand the pins have been bent on PigLovers unit. I seem to have this trouble with most/all the socket R 2011 boards I have received. The pins are unusually malleable for a socket and end up mangled at some point. Even the slightest pressure or brush of a finger can cause damage.

Currently, I have a few socket R 2011 workstation boards, but saw these and thought of pairing these with my dell c410x. I've been following the c6100 projects you guys have been working on, but these units are perfect for what I have available. Interchangeable parts with my other kit will allow me to experiment. Win-Win!!

I work 7 days a week so the build will take some time, but I would like to start here, building the foundation.

dba...if you have any more available, I'll be ready and prepared within two weeks time. :)

I've previously purchased from dba and Nitro via paypal and ebay, so we should be good to go.

If you guys are up for selling now or later, shoot me a message and I'm in. Thanks in advance! b3nz0n8
 
Last edited:

dba

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
1,477
184
63
San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Hi dba and PigLover,

If you guys end up selling (dba) / reselling (PigLover) these units, I would like to buy them. I will have the capacity to do so in two weeks, so when you are ready...

Also, I understand the pins have been bent on PigLovers unit. I seem to have this trouble with most/all the socket R 2011 boards I have received. The pins are unusually malleable for a socket and end up mangled at some point. Even the slightest pressure or brush of a finger can cause damage.

Currently, I have a few socket R 2011 workstation boards, but saw these and thought of pairing these with my dell c410x. I've been following the c6100 projects you guys have been working on, but these units are perfect for what I have available. Interchangeable parts with my other kit will allow me to experiment. Win-Win!!

I work 7 days a week so the build will take some time, but I would like to start here, building the foundation.

dba...if you have any more available, I'll be ready and prepared within two weeks time. :)

I've previously purchased from dba and Nitro via paypal and ebay, so we should be good to go.

If you guys are up for selling now or later, shoot me a message and I'm in. Thanks in advance! b3nz0n8
I have another STH reader with dibs on the second one, as soon as I can fix the pins and test. If they change their minds, I'll let you know.

If you have a rather rate and very expensive c401x, then have you seen my made-for-the-410x Dell c6145s for sale? Talk about a killer GPU platform - 16 CPUs, 128 DIMMs, 32 PCIe devices, 16 teraflops. The price is right and the pair of them already have four external PCIe ports for connection to that c410x - saving you the $2K it would cost to buy four external port PCIe cards. I dreamt of that configuration myself, though I never found a good source for "blank" c410x sleds. My plan was to use it for SAS cards as opposed to graphics cards, but the idea is the same.

Also, if you can live with a stripped-down, non-upgradable single-board version of the c6145 with only two heatsinks and no warranty, there is an eBay seller selling them for the very low price of $699 plus shipping.
 
Last edited:

local

New Member
Oct 26, 2013
5
0
0
dba, PigLover, b3nz0n8 or anyone else needing to fix bent pins:

Try using a mechanical pencil with the lead removed, it works great if the pins are easily accessible.

...as soon as I can fix the pins and test. If they change their minds, I'll let you know...